From has confounded, confused, mystified, and titillated viewers for two seasons with horror, indecipherable clues, and open-ended finales. Yet many obvious and subtle hints exist within From, most of them dismissed as babble from Victor. However, the backstory burdened with the most prominent mystery and intrigue is that of Victor (Scott McCord), the town’s isolated crayon-coloring resident who strikes up a friendship with Jim and Tabitha’s young son Ethan.
Victor has lived in the town of From and survived there for his entire adult life. The mentally burdened and developmentally stilted veteran of the forgotten 50s villa watched his mother and sister murdered, alongside countless other strangers who’ve come and – er – gone. Starting from Victor’s expertise with the trees to his knowledge of the 50s cannibal zombies, we’ll analyze the logic behind why Victor and his stunted mental growth patterns may very well be the cipher to decoding From!
Victor’s Troubled Mind
Season one of From scored 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, proving it’s a series full of intrigue that’s worth keeping up with. Victor’s official medical diagnosis is – according to the swaths of fanatics on the boards – an extreme form of Autism, as well as mild Aspergers. Victor won’t look anyone in the eye. Victor is withdrawn. Victor exhibits occasional traits of a person with OCD spectrum disorder.
But most importantly, within the context of the show, Victor is constantly taking notes and measuring the town and the surrounding forest. The least likely among all the hostages in From is the most probable to save everyone! Yet he can’t do it alone.
As Sheriff Boyd, Harold Parrineau is no stranger to confusing plots without apparent solutions – yet the courageous actor tackled From despite having no answers to the questions the series posed. The perfect foil (or fool) for this abandoned, deadly town – Parrineau, as Boyd fulfills the obligations the actor seemed to have invested in way back in Lost (2004-2010). The intersection, of course, between the Lost and From television series is the sensation of open-ended answers, a mystery with more than one solution, or an enigma that was never meant to be solved.
But Where Do We Go From Here?
One of the most persistent theories about From‘s mysterious demons throughout the series has been that they are mythological fairies. From has yet to explain the exact origins of the creatures; however, much evidence has pointed toward them being the evil cousins of fairies – in ancient Gallic, they were termed the “Sith.” Yes, the word “Sith” is actually a Celtic word that is thousands of years old (as is the word “Jedi”) – and George Lucas stole it, huzzah! Victor has made mention in the past of searching for fairies or evil spirits and warning against fairies (and what he called ‘dark fairies’ and ‘dark sprites’) in the forest surrounding From‘s town.
From works best when the twisted Americana of the town and the paranoid sensations that waft in to surround the destitute denizens permeate viewers’ senses like a barely remembered nightmare. Victor could very well be the key to understanding the entire series because as the show has progressed, it’s been revealed that Victor survived a total massacre within the abandoned villa that happened decades earlier when he was still a child. And what seemed to be the key to his survival was a mute, smiling young boy in white. The same “boy in white” that pushed Tabitha through the lighthouse and into the “real world” once more.
Despite a lull that nearly brought the sophomore offering to a halt, From continued building steam until the unexpected, shocking finale of the second season. Guided by Victor, Tabitha was able to escape the town. Could Victor save… everyone?
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth?
Does Victor’s developmental disorder or his perceived mental instability grant him insight or perhaps preternatural vision into the darkness that drives the surrounding woods of From? As Victor, Tabitha, and Jade appear to be the only trio capable of seeing the friendly ghosts – the balding, freaky kids in white from a bygone era – it makes sense that these same three are affected by something in the town, perhaps more so than everyone else.
Tabitha has been saved. Jade, despite his genius warping his humanity, has succumbed to the salvation offered by his hallucinations; he’s made contact with Cucuy – or at least the proposed ‘boogeyman’s victims. Victor must obviously see, hear, and feel these strange paranormal occurrences, but he can’t communicate it the same way. So, he scribbles with his crayons, notes the periphery movement of the forest, and warns others that the leaves are falling off the trees: “That hasn’t happened before.”
Victor’s four simple words offered such warning for all in the town of From. But the irony was that they couldn’t hear Victor, they couldn’t truly see him, and they couldn’t seem to be able to interpret his warnings. The series From could offer the most over-the-top underdog story ever put forth in the horror genre. Will Victor save everyone? Make sure to tune into From on MGM+ to find out!
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
